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Letters Patent No. 61,205, dated January 15, 1861.

IMPROVBD SWEEPING MACHINE.

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TO ALL WHOM IT'MAY CONOERN:

Be it known that I, ALLEN S. JI'MMERSON, of Greenpoint, in the county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Sweeping' Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this speciicatiomin which Figure 1 is anY inverted plan view of a sweepingmachine constructed according to my invention.

Figure 2 is a side` elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a detached section representing a portion of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

This invention is designed for sweeping snow or dirt, as the case maybe, from streets, railroad tracks, and other places, and it consists in a novel construction of the machine, whereby, when drawn with one end foremost, it will sweep the snow or dirt outward from the centre thereof, as required more especially in clearing tracks in winter, and when drawn with the other end foremost, it will sweep thesaid snow or dirt inward into a windrow, preparatory to its removal by any suitable means. The invention further consists :in Vcertain novel means whereby the most efficient operation of this feature of the invention is secured, and alsoin certain novel means whereby a iore eii'ective operation of the sweeping-brushes is ,obtained than in the sweeping machines heretofore" devised. he invention further consists in a novel construction of the sweeping-brushes, whereby they may be readily adjusted to compensate for their wearing away, and are thus rendered capable of doing a much greater amount of work than those made in the usual manner.

To enable others to understand the construction and operation of my invention, I will proceed to describe it, witlrrefercnce to the drawings,

The horizontal frame of themachine-is shown at A, and is supported upon four wheels, B, the two wheelsB, abone end of the frame A, being connected-with a supplementary frame, A', which is pivoted underneath the said end of the frame A, by a vertical bolt, in such manner as to allow the machine to be easily turned around when desired. The frame A has attached-to one end or the other, as the case may be, a draughtfpole, or equivalent device, by which the machine may be drawn when in use. C indicates two rotary swceping-brushes, situated obliquely or at an angle to each other underneath one end of the frame A, the axles or shafts of which work in suitable bearings formed in suitable hangers, a, extending downward from the aforesaid frame A. The axles of these two brushes C are connected at their inner ends by bevel gear-wheels 6 b; and one of the said axles is connected with the axle c of the adjacent pair of supporting-wheels B by gear-wheels ande, so that,

as the machine is drawn along, the rotation of the axle c communicates a rotary motion to the sweeping-brushes C. i D represents another rotarysweeping-brush, which is situated transversely under that end of the frame A opposite to that at which are placed the brushes C, the said brush D being supported by suitable hangers, a', and receiving a rotary .movement from the axle B, of the adjacent supportingewheels B, bymeans of spurwheels ffl. The construction of each ofthe rotating sweeping-brushes is as follows: Fitted upon the central shaft orA axle thereof, and near each end of the same, is a land or lange, which is constructed with four `(more or less) radial arms, g, in cach of which is formed a longitudinal transverse slot, g. It is to these arlnsg that the sections F of the brush are attached, by means of bolts f2, which are passed through the slots g iuhth'e arms g in such manner that, by vloosening the said bolts, the sections may be adjusted ata greater or less distance from the shaft or axle of the brush, as required more especially in adjusting the brushes to compensate for the wearing away of the saine. The sections E are made of a twisted or spiral form, so that when secured in their laces as 'ust set forth they will wind s irall with reference to the aforesaid shaft or axle or in other words P 7 .l 1 t P a 7 a be extended obliquly thereto, as represented more fully in iig. 1. Each of the sections .F is formed of two strips or plates, h, of metal, bent or curved into the requisite spiral form, and placed side by side, with the rattanl splints z', which constitute the brushing portion of the section, placed between them, the two plates or strips just mentioned being connected together by bolts in such manner that the aforesaid splints are tightly clamped or held in place'thereby. The said splints are of such length that they may be moved outward when worn away by use, .so as to compensate for such wearing away, by iirst loosening the'bolts that hold the two plates together, so that by thesemeansnot only may the sections F be adjusted with reference to the shaft or axle of the brush, but the splints forming -a part of each section may be adjusted'with regard to that portion formed by i or plates h, substantially as herein set forth for the purpose specified.V

the metallic strips or plates h thereof. 'Furthermoreby having the sections arranged spirally in relation with the shaft of thev brush, as hereiubefore set forth, only a Kportion of each section is brought in contact with the ground at any one time, and, as a consequence, the brushes are enabled to act more graduallyoupon 'the dirt or snow, as the case may be, and consequently to more e'ectually brush the same, outward or inward, as required, than would b c the'case if the sections of the brushes were arranged in a position parallel with the lshaft or axles ofthe same. When the machine is drawn along with that end foremost at which the oblique sweeping-brushes C are situated, said obliquefbrushes, together with the transverse sweeping-brush D, are caused to revolve by the axles of the.supportingwhecls B, through the agency ofthe gear-wheels, as hereinhefore described, in such manner that the oblique brushes C sweep the snow or dirt outward from the centre of the machine, or, in other words, towards the sides thereof, at' the same time that any snow or dirt that mayhave escaped the actionof the said voblique brushes will be caught up by thetransverse brush D, and flung forward under the aforesaid brushes C, in order that it may be thrown outward by the subsequent revolutions of the same. When the machine is drawn along with the opposite end foremost, the transverse brush D should be removed from the machine,and, inasmuch as in this ease thebrushes C rotate in a. direction opposite to that just described, the snow er dirt is swept inward, so that it is left-in a windrow as the machine is drawn along, sothat it may be easily gathered up and removed by any appropriate means. When the brushes become worn by use, the splints which'co'mpose the brushing portions thereof maybe moved outward with reference to the clamping strips or platesili, as hereinbet'ore set forth, or, in lieu `ofthis, the sections F may themselves be moved outward upon the arms g, as also hereinbefore explained, the portion worn from the brushes being compensated for by either of these means.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the transverse rotary brush D, with the two oblique rotary brushes C, arranged and operating substantially as herein, set forth for the purpose specified.

2. The construction of the sections F,Awith the brushing splints i clamped between thetwo metallic strips ALLEN s; nMME'RsoN.

Witnesses:

JAMES A. TTTLE, THoMAs HOGAN. 

